The following newsletter went out on April 24, 2026, with the headline What's at Stake in Ontario's School Board Governance Overhaul?
Over the past year, the Ministry of Education has taken control of eight school boards in Ontario, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). Amid this unprecedented level of provincial intervention, the Province expressed that changes must be made to school board governance and, on April 13, introduced Bill 101, Putting Student Achievement First Act, 2026. The legislation would significantly narrow the role of elected trustees.
School board trustees are democratically elected to represent the interests of specific communities within the public school system. For many communities, including newcomers and low-income households, trustees can serve as a crucial point of access to public institutions. They have also played a pivotal role in advocating for students with disabilities and special education needs, and helping these families navigate and access supports within an underfunded system that often falls short of meeting their needs.
The most common reason given for the recent takeovers is concerns around deficits and financial sustainability. But research by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that Ontario school boards are receiving, on average, $260 less per student in the 2025-26 school year than in the 2018-19, once adjusted for inflation and enrolment. This amounts to a total funding gap of $561.7 million for the 2025-26 school year. The figure is even higher for school boards in Toronto.
Taken together, this evidence suggests the challenges facing school boards is not simply a function of governance, but of a funding system that is misaligned with real-world needs.
To understand more about the proposed changes to school board governance, including ways you can take action to protect democratic representation in public education, read our full analysis on our blog.
In this issue:
- Join SPT’s Board of Directors
- SPT Joins Over 250 Organizations Opposing Defunding of Supervised Consumption Site
- Read Our Submission to the City of Toronto Regarding Inclusive Economic Development
- Proposed Ontario Bill Threatens to Gut Environmental Protections
- New Report From Maytree Calls for National Housing Benefit to Address Housing Crisis
- Sign the Petition: Call for Expanded Support for Urban Agriculture
Join SPT’s Board of Directors
SPT is currently seeking 2 volunteers to join our 10-member volunteer Board of Directors who are committed to working towards social and economic justice, a more equitable Toronto, and the mission and values of the organization. The candidates ideally have lived experience of racialization, racism and/or other forms of social and economic marginalization as well as one or more of the following areas of expertise:
- Governance and non-profit management experience
- Non-profit financial planning and fundraising experience
Applications close May 3, 2026. To learn more about what this role entails and how to apply, please visit our website.
SPT Joins Over 250 Organizations Opposing Defunding of Supervised Consumption Site
Toronto Public Health issued an alert regarding an increase in suspected opioid-overdose related deaths in the downtown and midtown areas. These tragic deaths are happening in tandem with an increase in the contamination of the unregulated opioid supply, including a veterinary tranquilizer found in 88% of fentanyl samples.
Toronto Public Health recommends that substance users take precautions, including not using alone, carrying a naloxone kit, and using a supervised consumption site (SCS) if possible. These harm reduction measures are evidence-backed and are increasingly inaccessible, due to the provincial government’s decision to shut down most of the SCS in Toronto.
Social Planning Toronto has joined the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and over 250 other civil society organizations in sending a joint open letter to the Ontario government denouncing their decision to defund the only remaining supervised consumption sites. Read the joint letter, and check out our Toronto Star op-ed published in partnership with The Neighbourhood Group Community Services last February.
Read Our Submission to the City of Toronto Regarding Inclusive Economic Development
For years, the City of Toronto had been guiding economic development with a focus on growth, rather than a consideration of who benefits (or doesn’t) from said growth. Despite being one of the wealthiest cities in the world, Toronto is the child poverty capital of Canada and holds the highest level of income inequality across the country.
Now, the City’s Inclusive Economic Development (IED) Framework is aiming to shift these trends by upholding the social and economic rights of Toronto’s residents as part of its 10-year Action Plan for Toronto’s Economy. Social Planning Toronto participated in the City’s partnered approach to guiding the IED Framework, and submitted the following letter to ensure that the framework enables policies, programs, and resources that support Community Wealth Building initiatives moving forward. The Framework was approved with amendments at the Economic and Community Development Committee on April 9, 2026 and was adopted at City Council on April 23.
Read our report, Community Wealth Building in Toronto: A Decade in Review (2014-2024).
Proposed Ontario Bill Threatens to Gut Environmental Protections
Ontario has introduced Bill 98, the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act, which purports to get homes to market faster by repealing local green building standards. Per the bill, municipal official plans will no longer be required to “contain goals, objectives and actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to provide for adaptation to a changing climate.”
Ample research has shown that low-income groups face the worst of climate change in Toronto, including poorer air quality, increased risks of flooding, and extreme temperatures due to improper insulation. By threatening to override the Toronto Green Standard, which has been in place for 20 years, the Province is further interfering in our local democracy.
Toronto Environmental Alliance has created an e-mail tool you can use to e-mail the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and your MPP calling on them to protect local green building development standards and local green jobs across the province.
Transit advocacy group TTCriders have also raised concerns that Bill 98 will risk a complete dismantling of the TTC. Per their analysis, this bill means the TTC Board and City Council would no longer control TTC fare prices, discounts, categories and programs, and could potentially change (or completely kill) fare capping and the low-income pass program. They have also created an e-mail tool that will contact the Minister of Transportation, the Premier, your MPP, your City Councillor, and the Mayor outlining these concerns.
New Report From Maytree Calls for National Housing Benefit to Address Housing Crisis
Blueprint for a Canada Housing Benefit System, a new report from Maytree Canada, offers a detailed proposal to create a permanent, Canada-wide housing benefit system that supports low-income renters and people experiencing homelessness. As many as 330,000 Canadian households depend on housing benefits set to expire in 2028, and nearly 60,000 people across Canada experience homelessness on a given night. Read the full report.
Sign the Petition: Call for Expanded Support for Urban Agriculture
A new campaign led by Access Alliance and the Scarborough Food Network aims to fight food insecurity by creating more urban farms in Toronto. This campaign builds on the success of the City’s Community Economic and Entrepreneurial Development (CEED) Garden pilot programs, established in hydro corridors (which are unsuitable for other purposes like housing but can support urban agriculture). Torontonians are invited to sign onto an open letter that will be delivered to local City Councillors and the City’s Infrastructure and Environment Committee.